Editing Persepolis

{{Short description|Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire}}
{{About|the ancient city}}

{{too many photos|date=January 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name           = Persepolis
| native_name    = {{ubl|{{langx|peo|𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿|Pārsa}}|{{langx|fa|تخت جمشید|Takht-e Jamshīd}}}}
| native_name_lang = 
| alternate_name = 
| image          =
| image_size     =300 
| alt            = 
| caption        = [[Gate of All Nations]] in Persepolis
| map            = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|zoom=11|frame-lat=29.935|frame-long=52.892
|type=shape|id=Q129072 |title=City map interactive
|type2=point|id2=Q129072|stroke-width=3|title2=zones|marker=city}}
| map_type       = Iran#West Asia
| map_alt        = 
| map_caption    = 
| map_size       = 
| altitude_m     = <!-- Enter a number for altitude in meters (m) -->
| altitude_ref   = 
| relief         = yes
| coordinates    = {{Coord|29.935|N|52.890|E|display=inline,title}}
| map_dot_label  = 
| location       = [[Marvdasht]], [[Fars province]], [[Iran]]<ref name="Location of Persepolis">{{cite web |title=Location of Persepolis |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=persepolis+iran&fb=1&hq=persepolis+iran&cid=159383863009202158&hnear=&ll=29.935839,52.891574&spn=0.011324,0.021136&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A |publisher=Google Maps |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100920/https://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=persepolis+iran&fb=1&hq=persepolis+iran&cid=159383863009202158&hnear&ll=29.935839,52.891574&spn=0.011324,0.021136&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region         = 
| type           = Settlement
| part_of        = 
| length         = 
| width          = 
| area           = 
| volume         = 
| diameter       = 
| circumference  = 
| height         = 
| builder        = [[Darius I]], [[Xerxes I]] and [[Artaxerxes I]]
| material       = [[Limestone]], [[mud-brick]], [[cedar wood]]
| built          = 6th century BC
| abandoned      =330 BC 
| epochs         = [[Achaemenid Empire]]
| cultures       = [[Persian people|Persian]]
| dependency_of  = 
| occupants      = 
| event          = 
*[[Battle of the Persian Gates]]
*Macedonian sack of Persepolis
*[[Nowruz]]
*[[2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire|The 2,500 Year Celebration of the Persian Empire]]
| discovered     = 
| excavations    = 
| archaeologists = 
| condition      = Ruins
| ownership      = 
| management     = [[Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran]]
| public_access  = Open
| other_designation = 
| website        = {{URL|https://persepolis.ir|persepolis.ir}}
| architectural_styles  = [[Achaemenid architecture|Achaemenid]]
| architectural_details = 
| designation1          = WHS
| designation1_offname  = Persepolis
| designation1_date     = 1979 {{small|(3rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])}}
| designation1_number   = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/114 114]
| designation1_criteria = i, iii, vi
| designation1_type     = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia|Asia-Pacific]]
}}
'''Persepolis''' ({{IPAc-en||p|ər|ˈ|s|ɛ|p|ə|l|ɪ|s}}; {{langx|peo|𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿|Pārsa}}; {{Langx|fa|تخت جمشید |translit=Takht-e Jamshīd|lit=Throne of [[Jamshid]]|label=[[New Persian]] |translit-std=ALA-LC}}) was the ceremonial capital of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] ({{c.|550–330 BC}}). It is situated in the plains of [[Marvdasht]], encircled by the southern [[Zagros mountains]], [[Fars province]] of [[Iran]]. It is one of the key Iranian [[cultural heritage]] sites and a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] since 1979.<ref name=UN>{{cite web |title=Pasargadae |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |year=2006 |access-date=26 December 2010 |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1106 |archive-date=5 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305132459/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1106 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC.<ref name=":0" /> The city, acting as a major center for the empire, housed a palace complex and citadel designed to serve as the focal point for governance and ceremonial activities.<ref name=":023">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-83057-4 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=186–187}}</ref> It exemplifies the [[Achaemenid architecture|Achaemenid style]] of architecture. The complex was taken by the army of [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 BC, and soon after, its wooden parts were completely destroyed by fire, likely deliberately.<ref name=":0" />

The function of Persepolis remains unclear. It was not one of the largest cities in ancient Iran, let alone the rest of the empire, but appears to have been a grand ceremonial complex that was only occupied seasonally; the complex was raised high on a walled platform, with five "palaces" or halls of varying size, and grand entrances. It is still not entirely clear where the king's private quarters actually were. Until recently, most archaeologists held that it was primarily used for celebrating [[Nowruz]], the Persian New Year, held at the spring [[equinox]], which is still an important annual festivity in Iran. The Iranian nobility and the tributary parts of the empire came to present gifts to the king, as represented in the stairway reliefs. It is also unclear what permanent structures there were outside the palace complex; it may be better to think of Persepolis as only one complex rather than a "city" in the usual sense.<ref name=":0">Mousavi, Ali, ''Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder'', p. 53, 2012, Walter de Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-1614510338}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KorZMqmTOJgC&pg=PA53 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100934/https://books.google.com/books?id=KorZMqmTOJgC&pg=PA53 |date=20 April 2023 }}</ref>

The exploration of Persepolis from the early 17th century led to the modern rediscovery of [[cuneiform]] writing and, from detailed studies of the trilingual [[Achaemenid royal inscriptions]] found on the ruins, the initial [[decipherment of cuneiform]] in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Persepolis |chapter=VI. Persepolis and the Puzzle of Cuneiform Inscriptions  |first=Ali |last=Mousavi |publisher=De Gruyter  |date=2012-03-14 |doi=10.1515/9781614510338.113 |pages=113–122 |isbn=978-1-61451-028-4 |quote=In this way, the exploration of the ancient ruins at Persepolis proved to be an important key to the development of historical and archaeological studies in the first half of the nineteenth century.}}</ref>

==Etymology==
''Persepolis'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{langx|grc|Περσέπολις|Persepolis|label=none}}, a compound of {{transliteration|grc|Pérsēs}} ({{lang|grc|Πέρσης}}) and {{transliteration|grc|pólis}} ({{lang|grc|πόλις}}, together meaning "the Persian city" or "the city of the Persians"). To the ancient Persians, the city was known as {{transliteration|peo|Pārsa}} ({{langx|peo|[[wikt:𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿|𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿]]}}), which is also the word for the region of [[Persis|Persia]].<ref>Bailey, H.W. (1996) "Khotanese Saka Literature", in Ehsan Yarshater (ed), ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol III: The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods'', Part 2 (reprint edition), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 1230.</ref><ref name=wood>{{cite book |title=Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East |author=Michael Woods, Mary B. Woods |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2008 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sevenwondersofan0000wood_e8u9/page/26 26]–28 |url=https://archive.org/details/sevenwondersofan0000wood_e8u9 |url-access=registration |quote=Persepolis means. |isbn=978-0822575733}}</ref>
[[File:Persepolis east side at spring.jpg|thumb|left|As is typical of Achaemenid cities, Persepolis was built on a (partially) artificial platform.]]

An inscription left in 311 AD by [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] Prince [[Shapur Sakanshah]], the son of [[Hormizd II]], refers to the site as {{transliteration|pal|Sad-stūn}}, meaning "Hundred Pillars".<ref name="Shahbaz">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/capital-cities |first1=A. Shapur |title=Capital Cities– Encyclopaedia Iranica |last1=Shahbazi |first2=C. Edmund |last2=Bosworth |date=1990 |volume=IV |pages=768–774 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410060733/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/capital-cities |url-status=live }}</ref> Because medieval Persians attributed the site to [[Jamshid]],<ref name="Holland2012">{{cite book |author=Holland, Tom |title=In the Shadow of the Sword |year=2012 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-1408700075 |pages=118–122}}</ref> a king from [[Persian mythology|Iranian mythology]], it has been referred to as {{transliteration|fa|Takht-e-Jamshid}} ({{langx|fa|[[wikt:تخت جمشید|تخت جمشید]]}}, {{transliteration|fa|Taxt e Jamšīd}}; {{IPA|fa|ˌtæxtedʒæmˈʃiːd|}}), literally meaning "Throne of Jamshid". Another name given to the site in the medieval period was {{transliteration|fa|Čehel Menâr}} ({{langx|fa|چهل منار}}, "Forty [[Minaret]]s"),<ref name="Shahbaz"/> transcribed as {{lang|es|Chilminara}} in [[Garcia de Silva Figueroa|De Silva Figueroa]]<ref name=gdsf/> and as '''Chilminar''' in early English sources.<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Smellie |editor-first=William |editor-link=William Smellie (encyclopedist) |display-editors=0 |title=[[:s:Encyclopædia Britannica, First Edition|Encyclopædia Britannica]] |edition=1st |volume=II |contribution=[[:s:Encyclopædia Britannica, First Edition/Chilminar|Chilminar]] |date=1771 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=[[Colin Macfarquhar]] |pages=183–184}}.</ref>

==Geography==
Persepolis is near the small river Pulvar, which flows into the [[Kor River|Kur River]]. The site includes a {{cvt|125,000|m2}} terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on [[Rahmat Mountain]].

==History==
[[File:Persepolis, capital of Persia (TerraX, English redub).webm|thumb|Animated reconstruction of Persepolis]]

===Construction===
Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. [[André Godard]], the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis in the early 1930s, believed that it was [[Cyrus the Great]] who chose the site of Persepolis, but that it was [[Darius I]] who built the terrace and the palaces. Inscriptions on these buildings support the belief that they were constructed by Darius.

With Darius I, the sceptre passed to a new branch of the royal house. The country's true capitals were [[Susa]], [[Babylon]] and [[Ecbatana]]. This may be why the Greeks were not acquainted with the city until [[Alexander the Great]] took and plundered it.

[[File:Darius.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|left|[[Darius the Great]], by [[Eugène Flandin]] (1840)]]
[[File:Harold f Weston - Iran13.jpg|thumb|Persepolis in 1920s, photo by [[Harold Weston]]|321x321px]]

Darius I's construction of Persepolis was carried out parallel to that of the [[Palace of Darius in Susa|Palace of Susa]].<ref name=Perrot>{{cite book |last1=Perrot |first1=Jean |title=The Palace of Darius at Susa: The Great Royal Residence of Achaemenid Persia |date=2013 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1848856219 |page=423 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDimj7F2VVgC&pg=PA423 |language=en |access-date=25 December 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100929/https://books.google.com/books?id=fDimj7F2VVgC&pg=PA423 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Gene R. Garthwaite, the Susa Palace served as Darius' model for Persepolis.<ref name="The Persians">{{cite book |last1=Garthwaite |first1=Gene R. |title=The Persians |date=2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1405144001 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unG8_JqzYQQC&pg=PA50 |language=en |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100921/https://books.google.com/books?id=unG8_JqzYQQC&pg=PA50 |url-status=live }}</ref> Darius I ordered the construction of the [[Apadana]] and the Council Hall ({{transliteration|grc|Tripylon}} or the "Triple Gate"), as well as the main imperial Treasury and its surroundings. These were completed during the reign of his son, [[Xerxes I]]. Further construction of the buildings on the terrace continued until the downfall of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref>2002. Guaitoli. M.T., & Rambaldi, S. ''Lost Cities from the Ancient World''. White Star, spa. (2006 version published by Barnes & Noble. Darius I founded Persepolis in 500 BC as the residence and ceremonial center of his dynasty. p. 164</ref> According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Greek historian [[Ctesias]] mentioned that Darius I's grave was in a cliff face that could be reached with an apparatus of ropes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Persepolis |title=Persepolis |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410060736/https://www.britannica.com/place/Persepolis |url-status=live }}</ref>

Around 519 BC, construction of a broad stairway was begun. Grey [[limestone]] was the main building material used at Persepolis. The uneven plan of the terrace, including the foundation, acted like a castle, whose angled walls enabled its defenders to target any section of the external front.

<gallery mode=packed>
File:General view of the ruins of Persepolis.jpg|General view of the Persepolis
File:Plan of Persepolis.png|Aerial architectural plan of Persepolis
</gallery>

===Destruction===
After [[Battle of the Persian Gate|invading Achaemenid Persia]] in 330 BC, [[Alexander the Great]] sent the main force of his army to Persepolis by the [[Royal Road]]. [[Diodorus Siculus]] writes that on his way to the city, Alexander and his army were met by 800 Greek artisans who had been captured by the Persians. Most were elderly and suffered some form of mutilation, such as a missing hand or foot. They explained to Alexander the Persians wanted to take advantage of their skills in the city but handicapped them so they could not easily escape. Alexander and his staff were disturbed by the story and provided the artisans with clothing and provisions before continuing on to Persepolis. Diodorus does not cite this as a reason for the destruction of Persepolis, but it is possible Alexander started to see the city in a negative light after this encounter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persepolis |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/persepolis/ |access-date=2021-02-16 |website=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417123147/https://www.worldhistory.org/persepolis/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon reaching the city, Alexander [[Battle of the Persian Gate|stormed]] the [[Persian Gates]], a pass through [[Zagros Mountains]]. There, [[Ariobarzanes of Persis]] successfully ambushed Alexander the Great's army, inflicting heavy casualties. After being held off for 30 days, Alexander the Great outflanked and destroyed the defenders. Ariobarzanes himself was killed either during the battle or during the retreat to Persepolis. Some sources indicate that the Persians were betrayed by a captured tribal chief who showed the Macedonians an alternate path that allowed them to outflank Ariobarzanes in a reversal of [[Thermopylae]]. After several months, Alexander allowed his troops to loot Persepolis.
[[File:Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse Incendie de Persepolis 1890.jpg|thumb|left|"The Burning of Persepolis", led by [[Thaïs]], 1890, by [[Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse]]]]

Around that time, a fire burned "the palaces" or "the palace".
[[File:Joshua Reynoldsre thais.jpg|thumb|left|[[Thaïs]] setting fire to Persepolis|357x357px]]
[[File:بقایای_منسوجات_سوخته_در_لهیب_آتش_اسکندر.jpg|thumb|Remains of burned textiles in Alexander fire (Persepolis Museum)|200px]]

It is believed that the fire which destroyed Persepolis started from Hadish Palace, which was the living quarters of [[Xerxes I]], and spread to the rest of the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.toiran.com/en/directory/shiraz-persepolis-339 |work=toiran.com |title=Persepolis |access-date=2015-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205211047/http://www.toiran.com/en/directory/shiraz-persepolis-339 |archive-date=5 February 2015}}</ref> It is not clear if the fire was an accident or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the [[Acropolis of Athens]] during the [[second Persian invasion of Greece]]. Many historians argue that, while Alexander's army celebrated with a [[symposium]], they decided to take revenge against the Persians.<ref name="The Chronology">{{cite book |title=The Chronology of Ancient Nations |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7661-8908-9 |page=484 |author=Sachau, C. Edward}} p. 127</ref> If that is so, then the destruction of Persepolis could be both an accident and a case of revenge. The fire may also have had the political purpose of destroying an iconic symbol of the Persian monarchy that might have become a focus for Persian resistance.

Several, much later, Greek and Roman accounts (including [[Arrian]], [[Diodorus Siculus]] and [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]]) describe that the burning was the idea of [[Thaïs]], mistress of Alexander's general [[Ptolemy I Soter]], and possibly of Alexander himself. She is said to have suggested it during a very drunken celebration, according to some accounts to revenge the destruction of Greek sanctuaries (she was from Athens), and either she or Alexander himself set the fire going.<ref>Mark, Joshua J. [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/214/alexander-the-great--the-burning-of-persepolis/ "Alexander the Great & the Burning of Persepolis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422095918/https://www.worldhistory.org/article/214/alexander-the-great--the-burning-of-persepolis/ |date=22 April 2021 }}, 2018, ''[[World History Encyclopedia]]''</ref>

The ''[[Book of Arda Viraf|Book of Arda Wiraz]]'', a [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] work composed in the 3rd or 4th century, describes Persepolis' archives as containing "all the [[Avesta]] and [[Zend]], written upon prepared cow-skins, and with gold ink", which were destroyed. Indeed, in his ''Chronology of the Ancient Nations'', the native Iranian writer [[Biruni]] indicates unavailability of certain native Iranian historiographical sources in the post-Achaemenid era, especially during the [[Parthian Empire]]. He adds: "[Alexander] burned the whole of Persepolis as revenge to the Persians, because it seems the Persian King Xerxes had burnt the Greek City of Athens around 150 years ago. People say that, even at the present time, the traces of fire are visible in some places."<ref name="The Chronology" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Al-Beruni and Persepolis |journal=Acta Iranica |volume=1 |place=Leiden |year=1974 |isbn=978-90-04-03900-1 |pages=137–150 |author1=Anonimo |publisher=Peeters Publishers}}</ref>

On the upside, the fire that destroyed those texts may have preserved the [[Persepolis Administrative Archives]] by preventing them from being lost over time to natural and man-made events.<ref name="Wiesehöfer 10-11">Wiesehöfer 10–11.</ref> According to archaeological evidence, the partial burning of Persepolis did not damage what are now referred to as the ''Persepolis Fortification Archive'' tablets, but rather may have caused the eventual collapse of the upper part of the northern fortification wall, preserving the tablets until their recovery by the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]]'s archaeologists.<ref name="Henkelman 2008:Ch 2">Henkelman 2008:Ch 2.</ref>

===After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire===
[[File:Faravahar relief.jpg|thumb|[[Faravahar]] symbol in Persepolis|215x215px]]
In 316 BC, Persepolis was still the capital of Persia as a province of the great [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian Empire]] (see Diodorus Siculus xix, 21 seq., 46; probably after [[Hieronymus of Cardia]], who was living about 326). The city must have gradually declined in the course of time. The lower city at the foot of the imperial city might have survived for a longer time;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/Iran/Fars/Persepolis.htm |title=Persepolis |publisher=Wondermondo |date=2012-02-13 |access-date=13 February 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528064826/http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/Iran/Fars/Persepolis.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> but the ruins of the Achaemenids remained as a witness to its ancient glory.

The nearby [[Estakhr]] gained prominence as a separate city very shortly after the decline of Persepolis. It appears that much of Persepolis' rubble was used for the building of Istakhr.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title =Iṣṭak̲h̲r| first1 = M. | last1 = Streck | first2 = G.C. | last2= Miles | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition |editor=P. Bearman |editor-link1=Peri Bearman|editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor-link2=Thierry Bianquis|editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor-link3=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor4=E. van Donzel |editor-link4=Emeri Johannes van Donzel|editor5=W.P. Heinrichs | editor-link5=Wolfhart Heinrichs|publisher = Brill Online | year = 2012| url = https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/*-SIM_3672 }}</ref> At the time of the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim invasion of Persia]], Estakhr offered a desperate resistance. It was still a place of considerable importance in the first century of [[Islam]], although its greatness was speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis of [[Shiraz]]. In the 10th century, Estakhr dwindled to insignificance. During the following centuries, Estakhr gradually declined, until it ceased to exist as a city.

[[File:پانوراما روز تخت جمشید.jpg|center|thumb|800x800px|Persepolis Panorama (17 May 2024)]]

==Archaeological research==
{{See also|Nowruz#Achaemenid period}}
[[Odoric of Pordenone]] may have passed through Persepolis on his way to China in 1320, although he mentioned only a great, ruined city called "Comerum".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KorZMqmTOJgC&q=persepolis%20afterlife&pg=PA95 |title=Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder |last=Mousavi |first=Ali |date=2012 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-1614510338 |language=en |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100925/https://books.google.com/books?id=KorZMqmTOJgC&q=persepolis%20afterlife&pg=PA95 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1474, [[Giosafat Barbaro]] visited the ruins of Persepolis, which he incorrectly thought were of Jewish origin.<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical account of discoveries and travels in Asia |first=Hugh |last=Murray |author-link=Hugh Murray (geographer) |location=Edinburgh |publisher=A. Constable and Co |year=1820 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LP4vAAAAYAAJ/page/n23 15] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LP4vAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> ''[[Richard Hakluyt|Hakluyt's]] Voyages'' included a general account of the ruins of Persepolis attributed to an English merchant who visited Iran in 1568.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hakluyt/voyages/v04/chapter11.html |title=Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, by Richard Hakluyt : chapter11 |website=ebooks.adelaide.edu.au |access-date=2019-07-03 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703223548/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hakluyt/voyages/v04/chapter11.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwFPDgAAQBAJ&q=persian+responses&pg=PR3 |title=Persian Responses: Political and Cultural Interaction with(in) the Achaemenid Empire |last=Tuplin |first=Christopher |date=2007 |publisher=ISD LLC |isbn=978-1910589465 |language=en |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100925/https://books.google.com/books?id=cwFPDgAAQBAJ&q=persian+responses&pg=PR3 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[António de Gouveia]] from [[Portugal]] wrote about [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform inscriptions]] following his visit in 1602. His report on the ruins of Persepolis was published as part of his {{lang|pt|Relaçam}} in 1611.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Relaçam em que se tratam as Guerras e Grandes Victorias que alcançou o grande Rei da Persia Xá Abbas do grão Turco Mahometto, e seu filho Amethe: as quais resultaram das Embaixadas, que por mando da Catholica e Real Magestade del Rei D. Felippe segundo de Portugal fizeram alguns Religiosos da ordem dos Ermitas de S. Augustinho à Persia. |last=Gouveia |first=António de |publisher=Pedro Crasbeeck |year=1611 |location=Lisboa |pages=31–32}}</ref>

In 1618, [[García de Silva Figueroa]], King [[Philip III of Spain]]'s ambassador to the court of [[Abbas the Great|Abbas I]], the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] monarch, was the first Western traveler to link the site known in Iran as "Chehel Minar" as the site known from Classical authors as Persepolis.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road to Babylon: Development of U.S. Assyriology |author=C. Wade Meade |publisher=Brill Archive |year=1974 |pages=5–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuAUAAAAIAAJ&q=Garc%C3%ADa+de+Silva+Figueroa+persepolis&pg=PA5 |isbn=978-9004038585 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100918/https://books.google.com/books?id=iuAUAAAAIAAJ&q=Garc%C3%ADa+de+Silva+Figueroa+persepolis&pg=PA5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=gdsf>{{citation |last=De Silva Figueroa |first=Garcia |authorlink=Garcia de Silva Figueroa |translator-last=De Wicquefort |translator-first=Abraham |translator-link=Abraham de Wicquefort |publisher=Louis Billaine |location=Paris |date=1667 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JY2ruU4atOQC&pg=PA144 |title=L'Ambassade de D. Garcias de Silva Figueroa en Perse... |access-date=29 November 2022 |archive-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129183316/https://books.google.com/books?id=JY2ruU4atOQC&pg=PA144 |url-status=live }}.</ref>

[[Pietro Della Valle]] visited Persepolis in 1621, and noticed that only 25 of the 72 original columns were still standing, due to either vandalism or natural processes.<ref>{{cite book |title=تخت جمشيد (Persepolis) |author=M. H. Aminisam |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2007 |pages=79–81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrS6d-vvCcUC&q=Pietro+della+Valle+persepolis&pg=PA80 |isbn=978-1463462529 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100920/https://books.google.com/books?id=LrS6d-vvCcUC&q=Pietro+della+Valle+persepolis&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Dutch traveler [[Cornelis de Bruijn]] visited Persepolis in 1704.<ref>{{cite book |title=Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder |author=Ali Mousavi |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2012 |pages=104–107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p585AgAAQBAJ&q=Cornelis+de+Bruijn+persepolis&pg=PA106 |isbn=978-1614510284 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100926/https://books.google.com/books?id=p585AgAAQBAJ&q=Cornelis+de+Bruijn+persepolis&pg=PA106 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Cornelis de bruijn persepolis.JPG|Sketch of Persepolis from 1704 by [[Cornelis de Bruijn]]
File:Drawing of perspolis 1713 by Gérard Jean-Baptiste (1671-1716).JPG|Drawing of Persepolis in 1713 by Gérard Jean-Baptiste
File:Persepolis T Chipiez.jpg|Drawing of the [[Tachara]] by [[Charles Chipiez]]
File:Persepolis Reconstruction Apadana Chipiez.jpg|The [[Apadana]] by [[Charles Chipiez]]
File:Persepolis Reconstruction Apadana Toit Chipiez.JPEG|[[Apadana]] detail by [[Charles Chipiez]]
File:Persepolis by Chardin & al.jpg|Persepolis by [[Jean Chardin]], 1711
File:Prus dar persepolis.png|[[Prussia]] board at Persepolis, 1862–1863
File:Ernst Herzfeld.jpg|The first scientific explorations in Persepolis were conducted by [[Ernst Herzfeld]] in 1931
File:Persepolis Colonne flandin.jpg|The design and details of the columns of Persepolis
File:Persepolis Rec Iso Toit Tach Chipiez.jpg|Roof design of palaces at Persepolis
File:Chipiez 100 colonnes.jpg|The design of the Throne Hall, Persepolis 
</gallery>

The fruitful region was covered with villages until its frightful devastation in the 18th century; and even now it is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. The Castle of Estakhr played a conspicuous part as a strong fortress, several times, during the Muslim period. It was the middlemost and the highest of the three steep crags which rise from the valley of the [[Kur]], at some distance to the west or northwest of the necropolis of [[Naqsh-e Rustam]].

The French voyagers [[Eugène Flandin]] and [[Pascal Coste]] are among the first to provide not only a literary review of the structure of Persepolis, but also to create some of the best and earliest visual depictions of its structure. In their publications in Paris, in 1881 and 1882, titled {{lang|fr|Voyages en Perse de MM. Eugene Flanin peintre et Pascal Coste architecte}}, the authors provided some 350 ground breaking illustrations of Persepolis.<ref name=ali/> French influence and interest in Persia's archaeological findings continued after the accession of [[Reza Shah]], when [[André Godard]] became the first director of the archeological service of Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/godard |title=Godard, André – Encyclopaedia Iranica |website=iranicaonline.org |access-date=2019-07-03 |archive-date=25 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225064721/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/godard |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 1800s, a variety of amateur digging occurred at the site, in some cases on a large scale.<ref name=ali>Ali Mousavi, Persepolis in Retrospect: Histories of Discovery and Archaeological Exploration at the ruins of ancient Passch, Ars Orientalis, vol. 32, pp. 209–251, 2002</ref>

The first scientific excavations at Persepolis were carried out by [[Ernst Herzfeld]] and [[Erich Schmidt (archaeologist)|Erich Schmidt]] representing the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]] of the [[University of Chicago]]. They conducted excavations for eight seasons, beginning in 1930, and included other nearby sites.<ref>[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc5.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205012019/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/saoc5.pdf|date=5 February 2011}} Ernst E Herzfeld, ''A New Inscription of Xerxes from Persepolis'', ''Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization,'' vol. 5, 1932</ref><ref>[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip68.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205012055/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip68.pdf|date=5 February 2011}} Erich F Schmidt, ''Persepolis I: Structures, Reliefs, Inscriptions'', Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 68, 1953</ref><ref>[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip69.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205013808/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip69.pdf|date=5 February 2011}} Erich F Schmidt, ''Persepolis II: Contents of the Treasury and Other Discoveries,'' Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 69, 1957</ref><ref>[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip70.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205014409/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oip70.pdf|date=5 February 2011}} Erich F Schmidt, ''Persepolis III: The Royal Tombs and Other Monuments'', Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 70, 1970</ref><ref>[http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oic21.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205015523/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oic21.pdf|date=5 February 2011}} Erich F Schmidt, ''The Treasury of Persepolis and Other Discoveries in the Homeland of the Achaemenians'', Oriental Institute Communications, vol. 21, 1939</ref>

[[File:Persian frieze designs at Persepolis.jpg|thumb|[[Frieze]] designs at Persepolis]]
Herzfeld believed that the reasons behind the construction of Persepolis were the need for a majestic atmosphere, a symbol for the empire, and to celebrate special events, especially the ''[[Nowruz]]''.<ref name=wood/> For historical reasons, Persepolis was built where the Achaemenid dynasty was founded, although it was not the center of the empire at that time.

Excavations of plaque fragments hint at a scene with a contest between [[Herakles]] and [[Apollo]], dubbed ''A Greek painting at Persepolis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/div-classtitlea-greek-painting-at-persepolisdiv/434BDDF27731A3F6A1DF0874C1CBAA41 |doi=10.2307/630751 |year=1980 |title=A Greek painting at Persepolis |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=100 |pages=204–206 |jstor=630751 |author1-link=Michael Roaf |last1=Roaf |first1=Michael |last2=Boardman |first2=John |s2cid=161864288 |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225947/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/div-classtitlea-greek-painting-at-persepolisdiv/434BDDF27731A3F6A1DF0874C1CBAA41 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Architecture===
Persepolitan architecture is noted for its use of the [[Persian column]], which was probably based on earlier wooden columns.

The buildings at Persepolis include three general groupings: military quarters, the treasury, and the reception halls and occasional houses for the King. Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the [[Gate of All Nations]], the [[Apadana]], the Hall of a Hundred Columns, the Tripylon Hall and the [[Tachara]], the Hadish Palace, the Palace of [[Artaxerxes III]], the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables, and the Chariot House.<ref>{{cite book |title=From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire |author=Pierre Briant |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2002 |pages=256–258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxQ9W6F1oSYC&q=Persepolis+military+quarter&pg=PA257 |isbn=978-1575061207 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100932/https://books.google.com/books?id=lxQ9W6F1oSYC&q=Persepolis+military+quarter&pg=PA257 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Remains==
{{Comprehensive map of Persepolis}}
{{clear}}
[[File:Lotus Achaemenid architecture.JPG|thumb|upright|Reliefs of [[Nymphaea|lotus flowers]] are frequently used on the walls and monuments at Persepolis.]]
Ruins of a number of colossal buildings exist on the terrace. All are constructed of dark-grey marble. Fifteen of their pillars stand intact. Three more pillars have been re-erected since 1970. Several of the buildings were never finished.

Behind the compound at Persepolis, there are three sepulchers hewn out of the rock in the hillside. 
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Persepolis stairs of the Apadana relief.jpg|A bas-relief from the [[Apadana|Apadana Palace]] depicting Delegations including [[Lydians]] and [[Armenians]]<ref>R. W. Ferrier. ''The Arts of Persia''. page 39, image 21</ref> bringing their famous wine to the king.
File:Achaemenid plaque from Persepolis.JPG|Achaemenid plaque from Persepolis, kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]].
File:Mad-5223.jpg|Relief of a [[Medes|Median]] man at Persepolis.
File:National Meusem Darafsh 6 (54).JPG|Objects from Persepolis kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]
File:National Meusem Darafsh 20.JPG|The head of a Lamassu from Persepolis, kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]
File:Door-Post Socket (4690606141).jpg|Door-Post Socket
File:Part of the monumental double staircase leading up to the terrace, Persepolis, Iran (47779523221).jpg|The Great Double Staircase at Persepolis
File:PersepolisNegareh.jpg|A bas-relief at Persepolis, representing a symbol in [[Zoroastrianism]] for [[Nowruz]].{{efn|Eternally fighting bull (personifying the moon), and a lion (personifying the sun) representing the spring.}}
File:ردیف سربازان-پلکان کاخ آپادانا-تخت جمشید.jpg|The discipline of the reliefs.
File:Tablette xerxes persepolis.jpg|Tablets of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]], kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]
File:Persepolis Apadana Stairways in National Museum of Iran.jpg|One of the staircases of Persepolis, kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]
File:Achamanid-Woman-Statue-Persia-Persepolis.jpg|One of the four existing statues of [[Penelope]] was discovered at Persepolis, and is kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]
</gallery>

===The Gate of All Nations===
{{main|Gate of All Nations}}

[[File:The stone columns of the Gate of All Nations, they were 16½ meters high and were topped with capitals in the form of a double bull, Persepolis, Iran (47779521811).jpg|thumb|upright|The stone columns of the [[Gate of All Nations]], they are 16½ meters high and were topped with capitals in the form of a double bull.]]
The [[Gate of All Nations]], referring to subjects of the empire, consisted of a grand hall that was a square of approximately {{cvt|25|m|ft}} in length, with four columns and its entrance on the Western Wall.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg|[[Gate of All Nations|The Gate of All Nations]], Persepolis
File:Detail- The Gate of All Nations, Persepolis, Iran (4670203537).jpg|A Lamassu at the [[Gate of All Nations]]
File:Position of three languages inscriptions on Gate of all nations in persepolis.JPG|The position of three languages inscriptions on The [[Gate of All Nations]], Persepolis
File:تخت جمشيد دروازه ملل Persepolice Fars Marvdasht Shiraz - panoramio.jpg|The two Lamassu at the [[Gate of All Nations]].
File:A history of all nations from the earliest times; being a universal historical library (1905) (14759223936).jpg|The [[Gate of All Nations]] in 1905.
</gallery>

===The Apadana Palace===
{{main|Apadana}}
[[File:Persepolis - statue of a mastiff.jpg|thumb|Statue of a [[Mastiff|Persian Mastiff]] found at the [[Apadana]], kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]].]]

[[Darius I]] built the greatest palace at Persepolis on the western side of platform. This palace was called the ''[[Apadana]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gardens of Persia |author=Penelope Hobhouse |publisher=Kales Press |year=2004 |pages=177–178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMFRyiAxZ6YC&q=apadana+is+ayvan+in+achaemenid&pg=PA177 |isbn=978-0967007663 |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100929/https://books.google.com/books?id=AMFRyiAxZ6YC&q=apadana+is+ayvan+in+achaemenid&pg=PA177 |url-status=live }}</ref> The King of Kings used it for official audiences.

Foundation tablets of gold and silver were found in two deposition boxes in the foundations of the Palace.<ref>Wright, H. C. (1981). "Ancient Burials of Metal Documents in Stone Boxes: Their Implications for Library History." ''The Journal of Library History'' (1974), 16(1), 48–70.</ref> They contained an inscription by Darius in [[Old Persian cuneiform]], which describes the extent of his Empire in broad geographical terms, and is known as the DPh inscription:<ref name="ACH29"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Persepolis: discovery and afterlife of a world wonder |date=2012 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/persepolis_discovery_and_afterlife_of_a_world_wonder/page/n195 171]–181 |url=https://archive.org/details/persepolis_discovery_and_afterlife_of_a_world_wonder |language=en}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 351
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Corner of the Apadana Darius the Great inscription.jpg
| caption1          = Gold foundation tablets of Darius I for the [[Apadana Palace]], in their original stone box. The [[Apadana hoard|Apadana coin hoard]] had been deposited underneath. {{Circa|510 BC}}. Both are kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]].
| image2            = Deposition plate of Darius I in Persepolis.jpg
| caption2          = One of the two gold deposition plates. Two more were in silver. They all had the same trilingual inscription (DPh inscription).<ref>{{cite book |title=DPh – Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dph/ |language=en |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411130103/https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dph/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
{{Blockquote|Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says: This is the kingdom which I hold, from the [[Scythians|Sacae]] who are beyond [[Sogdia]], to [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]], and from [[Sind]] ({{langx|peo|[[Wikt:𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁|𐏃𐎡𐎭𐎢𐎺]]|Hidauv}}, [[locative]] of {{transliteration|peo|[[Hindush|Hiduš]]}}, i.e. "[[Indus valley]]") to [[Lydia]] ({{langx|peo|Spardâ}}) – [this is] what Ahuramazda, the greatest of gods, bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal house!|DPh inscription of Darius I in the foundations of the Apadana Palace<ref>[https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dph/? DPh inscription] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411130103/https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dph/ |date=11 April 2021 }}, also [https://ldsmag.com/the-gold-plates-of-king-darius/ Photographs of one of the gold plaques] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411130110/https://ldsmag.com/the-gold-plates-of-king-darius/ |date=11 April 2021 }}</ref>}}

The reliefs on the staircases allow one to observe the people from across the empire in their traditional dress, and even the king himself, "down to the smallest detail".<ref name="The Persians"/>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Apadana palace persepolis.JPG|alt=|[[Apadana|Apadana palace]], Persepolis
File:Medes and Persians at eastern stairs of the Apadana, Persepolis.JPG|Depiction of united [[Medes]] and [[Persian people|Persians]] at the [[Apadana]], Persepolis
File:Persépolis, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 53.jpg|[[Immortals (Achaemenid Empire)|Immortals]] figures at [[Apadana]], Persepolis
File:Cedar in Persepolis by Hamid Parsaei Rad.jpg|Depiction of trees and [[Nymphaea|Lotus flowers]] at the [[Apadana]], Persepolis
File:Columns, Persepolis, Iran (14471667541).jpg|[[Apadana]]'s columns, Persepolis
File:The Treasury Reliefs (Best Viewed in "Original" Size) (4734172156).jpg|The central wall of the northern stairs of [[Apadana]] palace, which shows [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] sitting on the throne and receiving an important official. Kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]. Its counterpart remains at Persepolis.
</gallery>

====Apadana Palace coin hoard====
{{multiple image
| title             = Apadana hoard
| align             = right
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = KINGS of LYDIA. Time of Cyrus to Darios I. Circa 545-520 BC.jpg
| width1            = 164
| caption1          = Gold [[Croeseid]] minted in the time of [[Darius I|Darius]], of the type of the eight Croeseids found in the Apadana hoard, {{c.|545–520 BC}}. Light series: {{cvt|8.07|g}}, [[Sardis]] mint.
| image2            = Aegina Stater achaic.jpg
| width2            = 128
| caption2          = Type of the [[Aegina]] stater found in the Apadana hoard, 550–530{{nbsp}}BC. Obverse: [[Sea turtle]] with large pellets down centre. Reverse: incuse square punch with eight sections.<ref name="ACH29">{{cite journal |last1=Zournatzi |first1=Antigoni |title=The Apadana Coin Hoards, Darius I, and the West |journal=American Journal of Numismatics |volume=15 |date=2003 |pages=1–28 |jstor=43580364}}</ref>
| image3            = THRACE, Abdera. Circa 540-35-520-15 BC.jpg
| width3            = 150
| caption3          = Type of the [[Abdera, Thrace|Abdera]] coin found in the Apadana hoard, {{c.|540/35–520/15 BC}}. Obverse: Griffin seated left, raising paw. Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square.<ref name="ACH29"/>
}}

{{Main|Apadana hoard|Achaemenid coinage}}
The [[Apadana hoard]] is a hoard of coins that were discovered under the stone boxes containing the foundation tablets of the [[Apadana Palace]] in Persepolis.<ref name="ACH29"/> The coins were discovered in excavations in 1933 by [[Erich Schmidt (archaeologist)|Erich Schmidt]], in two deposits, each deposit under the two deposition boxes that were found. The deposition of this hoard is dated to {{c.|515 BC}}.<ref name="ACH29"/> The coins consisted in eight gold lightweight [[Croeseid]]s, a [[tetradrachm]] of [[Abdera, Thrace|Abdera]], a stater of [[Aegina]] and three double-[[sigloi]] from [[Cyprus]].<ref name="ACH29"/> The Croeseids were found in very fresh condition, confirming that they had been recently minted under Achaemenid rule.<ref name="CHI"/> The deposit did not have any [[Daric]]s and [[Sigloi]], which also suggests strongly that these coins typical of [[Achaemenid coinage]] only started to be minted later, after the foundation of the Apadana Palace.<ref name="CHI">{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=William Bayne |last2=Gershevitch |first2=I. |last3=Boyle |first3=John Andrew |last4=Yarshater |first4=Ehsan |last5=Frye |first5=Richard Nelson |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |date=1968 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521200912 |page=617 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBbyr932QdYC&pg=PA618 |language=en |access-date=20 November 2018 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100934/https://books.google.com/books?id=BBbyr932QdYC&pg=PA618 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===The Throne Hall===
[[File:Hall of Hundred Columns (Throne Hall) in Persepolis.jpg|left|thumb|The Throne Hall, Persepolis]]
Next to the Apadana, second largest building of the Terrace and the final edifices, is the Throne Hall or the Imperial Army's ''Hall of Honor'' (also called the ''Hundred-Columns Palace''). This {{cvt|70|x|70|m2}} hall was started by [[Xerxes I]] and completed by his son [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes I]] by the end of the fifth century BC. Its eight stone doorways are decorated on the south and north with reliefs of throne scenes and on the east and west with scenes depicting the king in combat with monsters. Two colossal stone bulls flank the northern portico. The head of one of the bulls now resides in the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]] in Chicago<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/highlights/animals.html |title=Oriental Institute Highlights |publisher=Oi.uchicago.edu |date=2007-02-19 |access-date=2012-12-30 |archive-date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614052155/http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/highlights/animals.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a column base from one of the columns in the [[British Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1974-1210-1 |title=British Museum collection |work=The British Museum |access-date=3 November 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418091750/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1974-1210-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes I, the Throne Hall was used mainly for receptions for military commanders and representatives of all the subject nations of the empire. Later, the Throne Hall served as an imperial museum.

===The Tachara Palace===
[[Tachara]], was the exclusive palace of [[Darius the Great]] at Persepolis. Only a small portion of the palace was finished under his rule, it was completed after the death of Darius in 486 BC, by his son and successor, [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hobhouse |first=Penelope |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMFRyiAxZ6YC |title=The Gardens of Persia |date=2004 |publisher=Kales Press |isbn=978-0-9670076-6-3 |language=en}}</ref> who called it a Taçara, which means "winter palace" in Old Persian. It was then used by [[Artaxerxes I]]. In the 4th century BC, following his invasion of Iran in 330 BC, [[Alexander the Great]] allowed his troops to loot Persepolis. This palace was one of the few structures that escaped destruction in the burning of the complex by Alexander's army, and because of that, Tachara is the most intact building of Persepolis today. It is also the oldest structure at Persepolis. Tachara stands back to back to the [[Apadana]], and is oriented southward.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mousavi |first=Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KorZMqmTOJgC |title=Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder |date=2012-04-19 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-1-61451-033-8 |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:کاخ تچرا.jpg|[[Tachara]] is the most intact building of Persepolis today.
File:پلکانی در کاخ تچر.jpg|The staircase of [[Tachara]] palace at Persepolis
File:Tachara Persepolis.JPG|The trilingual inscription of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] on the south porch of [[Tachara]] palace at Persepolis
File:Achaemenid King vs Lion.jpg|The relief of king's battle with devil at [[Tachara]] palace, Persepolis
File:Persepolis relief guests.jpg|Part of the reliefs on the southern stairway of [[Tachara]] palace depicting a line of servants bearing animals, food and drinks.
File:نمایی از تخت جمشید 2.jpg|[[Tachara|Tachara Palace]], Persepolis
File:Persepolis Iran-5.jpg|On the structure of [[Tachara]] palace
</gallery>

===The Hadish Palace===
The Hadish Palace of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] is one of palaces at Persepolis. It's located on the east of the Palace of H (Artaxerxes I). The palace occupies the highest level of terrace and stands on the living rock. The inscriptions of the palace attest that the building was built by order of Xerxes. It covers an area of 2550 square meters (40*55 meters). A double staircase on the west leads to courtyard of the Tachara chateau and another staircase on the northeast connects to courtyard of the Council Hall.<gallery mode="packed">
File:History History Travel from Shiraz to Isfahan, Iran (40353041755).jpg|The Hadish palace, Persepolis
File:Lotus on the walls of Hadish palace,.png|[[Nelumbo nucifera|Lotus]] on the walls of Hadish palace, Persepolis
File:Persepolis 24.11.2009 11-39-46.jpg|Hadish palace was built by the order of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]]
File:Persepolis, Iran (2471048564).jpg|[[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] at the Hadish palace
File:Ruins of the Palace of Xerxes in Persepolis, Iran, historical illustration, circa 1886.png|Hadish Palace at Persepolis, 1886
File:1911 Britannica-Architecture-Hall of Xerxes.png|The hall of Hadish palace.
</gallery>

===Other palaces and structures===
The Council Hall, the Tryplion Hall, the Palaces of D, G, H, storerooms, stables and quarters, the unfinished gateway and a few miscellaneous structures at Persepolis are located near the south-east corner of the terrace, at the foot of the mountain.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Zoomorphic Capital (4679068036).jpg|[[Huma bird]] at Persepolis
File:Perspolis.jpg|A well-preserved column at Persepolis
File:SEHDAR PALACE IN PERSEPOLIS.tif|Reliefs from the Council Hall, Persepolis
File:خزانه.jpg|Part of the treasury, Persepolis
File:Persepolis, Iran 08.jpg|The unfinished gate of Persepolis, started by the order of [[Artaxerxes III]], continued by his successors [[Arses of Persia|Arses]] and [[Darius III]].
File:تخت جمشید 7.JPG|A column head.
</gallery>

===Tombs===
[[File:Persepolis - Tomb of Artaxerxes III 01.jpg|thumb|Tomb of [[Artaxerxes III]], Persepolis]]
It is commonly accepted that [[Cyrus the Great]] was buried in the [[Tomb of Cyrus]] in [[Pasargadae]], which is mentioned by [[Ctesias]] as his own city. If it is true that the body of [[Cambyses II]] was brought home "to the Persians," his burying place must be somewhere beside that of his father. Ctesias assumes that it was the custom for a king to prepare his own tomb during his lifetime. Hence, the kings buried at [[Naghsh-e Rostam]] are probably [[Darius I]], [[Xerxes I]], [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes I]] and [[Darius II]]. [[Xerxes II of Persia|Xerxes II]], who reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have obtained so splendid a monument, and still less could the usurper [[Sogdianus]]. The two completed graves behind the compound at Persepolis would then belong to [[Artaxerxes II of Persia|Artaxerxes II]] and [[Artaxerxes III]]. The unfinished tomb, a kilometer away from the city, is debated to who it belongs.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lK6l7oF_ccC&pg=PA956 |title=A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East |isbn=978-1405189880 |last1=Potts |first1=Daniel T |date=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100920/https://books.google.com/books?id=7lK6l7oF_ccC&pg=PA956 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Ancient texts===
{{over-quotation|section|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Cuneiform inscriptions from Persepolis by Nickmard Khoey.jpg|thumb|Babylonian version of an inscription of [[Xerxes I]], the "XPc inscription"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/xpc/ |title=XPc – Livius |website=livius.org |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418091752/https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/xpc/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|Known as XPc (Xerxes Persepolis c), from the portico of the [[Tachara]].}}]]
[[File:Tachar-writing.png|thumb|The inscription of [[Artaxerxes III]] at Tachar palace, Persepolis.]]
There are a total of 11 existing inscriptions at Persepolis, related to [[Darius the Great]], [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]], [[Artaxerxes II]] and [[Artaxerxes III]]. The relevant passages from ancient scholars on the subject are set out below:
{{blockquote|Persepolis was the capital of the Persian kingdom. Alexander described it to the Macedonians as the most hateful of the cities of Asia, and gave it over to his soldiers to plunder, all but the palaces. (2) It was the richest city under the sun, and the private houses had been furnished with every sort of wealth over the years. The Macedonians raced into it, slaughtering all the men whom they met and plundering the residences; many of the houses belonged to the common people and were abundantly supplied with furniture and wearing apparel of every kind...

72 (1) Alexander held games in honor of his victories. He performed costly sacrifices to the gods and entertained his friends bountifully. While they were feasting and the drinking was far advanced, as they began to be drunken, a madness took possession of the minds of the intoxicated guests. (2) At this point, one of the women present, Thais by name and Attic by origin, said that for Alexander it would be the finest of all his feats in Asia if he joined them in a triumphal procession, set fire to the palaces, and permitted women's hands in a minute to extinguish the famed accomplishments of the Persians. (3) This was said to men who were still young and giddy with wine, and so, as would be expected, someone shouted out to form up and to light torches, and urged all to take vengeance for the destruction of the [[Ancient Greek temple|Greek temple]]s. (4) Others took up the cry and said that this was a deed worthy of Alexander alone. When the king had caught fire at their words, all leaped up from their couches and passed the word along to form a victory procession [epinikion komon] in honor of Dionysius.

(5) Promptly, many torches were gathered. Female musicians were present at the banquet, so the king led them all out for the [[komos]] to the sound of voices and flutes and pipes, Thais the courtesan leading the whole performance. (6) She was the first, after the king, to hurl her blazing torch into the palace. As the others all did the same, immediately the entire palace area was consumed, so great was the conflagration. It was most remarkable that the impious act of Xerxes, king of the Persians, against the acropolis at Athens should have been repaid in kind after many years by one woman, a citizen of the land which had suffered it, and in sport.|[[Diodorus Siculus]], 17.70.1–73.2, 17.70 (1)}}

{{blockquote|On the following day, the king called together the leaders of his forces and informed them that "no city was more mischievous to the Greeks than the seat of the ancient kings of Persia [...] by its destruction they ought to offer sacrifice to the spirits of their forefathers."

7 (1) But Alexander's great mental endowments, that noble disposition, in which he surpassed all kings, that intrepidity in encountering dangers, his promptness in forming and carrying out plans, his good faith towards those who submitted to him, merciful treatment of his prisoners, temperance even in lawful and usual pleasures, were sullied by an excessive love of wine. (2) At the very time when his enemy and his rival for a throne was preparing to renew the war, when those whom he had conquered were but lately subdued and were hostile to the new rule, he took part in prolonged banquets at which women were present, not indeed those whom it would be a crime to violate, but, to be sure, harlots who were accustomed to live with armed men with more licence than was fitting.

(3) One of these, Thais by name, herself also drunken, declared that the king would win most favor among all the Greeks, if he should order the palace of the Persians to be set on fire; that this was expected by those whose cities the barbarians had destroyed. (4) When a drunken strumpet had given her opinion on a matter of such moment, one or two, themselves also loaded with wine, agreed. The king, too, more greedy for wine than able to carry it, cried: "Why do we not, then, avenge Greece and apply torches to the city?" (5) All had become heated with wine, and so they arose when drunk to fire the city which they had spared when armed. The king was the first to throw a firebrand upon the palace, then the guests and the servants and courtesans. The palace had been built largely of cedar, which quickly took fire and spread the conflagration widely. (6) When the army, which was encamped not far from the city, saw the fire, thinking it accidental, they rushed to bear aid. (7) But when they came to the vestibule of the palace, they saw the king himself piling on firebrands. Therefore, they left the water which they had brought, and they too began to throw dry wood upon the burning building.

(8) Such was the end of the capital of the entire Orient... .

(10) The Macedonians were ashamed that so renowned a city had been destroyed by their king in a drunken revel; therefore the act was taken as earnest, and they forced themselves to believe that it was right that it should be wiped out in exactly that manner. |author=[[Quintus Curtius Rufus]] 5.6.1–7.12 5.6 (1)}}

{{blockquote|And did not Alexander the Great have with him Thais, the Athenian hetaira? Cleitarchus speaks of her as having been the cause for the burning of the palace at Persepolis. After Alexander's death, this same Thais was married to Ptolemy, the first king of Egypt. |author=Cleitarchus, [[Fragmente der griechischen Historiker|FGrHist]]. 137, F. 11 (= Athenaeus 13. 576d-e)}}

==Modern events==
[[File:651a964b0282b5.55920567-original.jpg|right|350px|thumb|1 million rials in Iran Cheque]]
===2,500-year celebration ===
In 1971, Persepolis was the main staging ground for the ''[[2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire]]'' under the reign of [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], the second and last Shah of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]]. It included delegations from foreign nations in an attempt to advance the [[Culture of Iran|Iranian culture]] and history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Amini |first1=Hassan |title=Decadence and Downfall: The World's Most Expensive Party |date=8 October 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymq6BAd3amg |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref>

===The controversy of the Sivand Dam===
Construction of the [[Sivand Dam]], named after the nearby town of [[Sivand]], began on 19 September 2006. Despite 10 years of planning, Iran's [[Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran|Cultural Heritage Organization]] was not aware of the broad areas of flooding during much of this time,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/23/iran.artsnews |title=Dam is threat to Iran's heritage |last=Vidal |first=John |date=2004-12-23 |website=The Guardian |language=en |access-date=2018-06-10 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410061014/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/23/iran.artsnews |url-status=live }}</ref> and there is growing concern about the effects the dam will have on the surrounding areas of Persepolis. Activists expressed concern that the dam's placement between the ruins of [[Pasargadae]] and Persepolis will flood both. Engineers involved with the construction deny this claim, stating that it is impossible, because both sites sit well above the planned waterline. Of the two sites, Pasargadae is considered the more threatened.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Esfandiari |first1=Golnaz |title=Iran: Activists Say New Dam Threatens Ancient Historical Sites |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1072690.html |newspaper=Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref>

=== Nowruz Celebrations ===
Every year during [[Nowruz]], a large number of people come to Persepolis to celebrate the new year. In 2024, 10,000 people were at Persepolis when Nowruz started.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-20 |title=۱۰ هزار مسافر نوروزی لحظه تحویل سال را در تخت جمشید جشن گرفتند |url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6059441/%DB%B1%DB%B0-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B8%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%AC%D8%B4%D9%86-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AF |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=خبرگزاری مهر {{!}} اخبار ایران و جهان {{!}} Mehr News Agency |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-30 |title=Hafez, Sa'di mausoleums, Persepolis among most visited in Nowruz |url=https://en.irna.ir/news/85066736/Hafez-Sa-di-mausoleums-Persepolis-among-most-visited-in-Nowruz |agency=Islamic Republic News Agency}}</ref>

=== First concert ===
In a groundbreaking cultural event, Iranian vocalist [[Alireza Ghorbani]] performed the first-ever concert at Persepolis from 29 June to 1 July 2024, and received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from attendees.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-02 |title=Iranian Singer Alireza Ghorbani Mesmerizes Audience During Concert at Historic Persepolis |url=https://ifpnews.com/iranian-singer-alireza-ghorbani-concert-persepolis/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Iran Front Page |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-03 |title=Alireza Ghorbani's concert at Persepolis extended |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/500641/Alireza-Ghorbani-s-concert-at-Persepolis-extended |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-01 |title=کنسرت علیرضا قربانی در تخت جمشید شیراز |url=https://www.isna.ir/photo/1403041207676/%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%B6%D8%A7-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B2 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=ایسنا |language=fa}}</ref>

=== Cultural events ===
Various events are held in Persepolis every year, including the [[Shahnameh]] reading festival and other cultural events.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=جشنواره شاهنامه‌خوانی در تخت جمشید برگزار می‌شود |url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6053407/%D8%AC%D8%B4%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%AF |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Mehr News Agency |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-30 |title=(تصاویر) بازدید هیئت فرهنگی چین از تخت جمشید |url=https://fararu.com/fa/news/387167/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A6%D8%AA-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C-%DA%86%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF |website=Fararu}}</ref>

=== Conservation issues ===
The site is also threatened by the presence of [[lichen]]s that have grown on the surface of the monuments, some of which have eroded intricate carvings and motifs. Some of the lichens are estimated to be around 1,700 years old, and their spread has been attributed to industrialisation, acid rain and the extreme desert climate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2024 |title=The stone-eaters that threaten Iran's ancient Persepolis |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240916-the-stone-eaters-that-threaten-iran-s-ancient-persepolis |access-date=16 September 2024 |website=France 24|language=en}}</ref>

==Museums (outside Iran) that display objects from Persepolis==
One bas-relief from Persepolis is in the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]] in [[Cambridge]], England.<ref>A Persepolis Relief in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Richard Nicholls and Michael Roaf. Iran, Vol. 15, (1977), pp. 146–152. Published by: British Institute of Persian Studies.</ref> The largest collection of reliefs is at the [[British Museum]], sourced from multiple British travellers who worked in Iran in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Lindsay |date=2013-01-01 |title="Come Then Ye Classic Thieves of Each Degree": The Social Context of the Persepolis Diaspora in the Early Nineteenth Century |journal=Iran |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=207–234 |doi=10.1080/05786967.2013.11834730 |s2cid=193984848 |issn=0578-6967}}</ref> The Persepolis bull at the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]] in Chicago is one of the university's most prized treasures, part of the division of finds from the excavations of the 1930s. New York City's [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|Metropolitan Museum]] and [[Detroit Institute of Art]] houses objects from Persepolis,<ref>Harper, Prudence O., Barbara A. Porter, Oscar White Muscarella, Holly Pittman, and Ira Spar. "Ancient Near Eastern Art." The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] Bulletin, v. 41, no. 4 (Spring, 1984).</ref> as does the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology]] of the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/258882 |title=Relief – B10301 &#124; Collections – Penn Museum |website=penn.museum |access-date=8 September 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215230221/https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/258882 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mba-lyon.fr/fr/collection-home/decouvrir-les-collections |title=Découvrir les collections |website=Musée des Beaux Arts Lyon |access-date=8 September 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924040940/https://www.mba-lyon.fr/fr/collection-home/decouvrir-les-collections |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Louvre]] of Paris hold objects from Persepolis as well. A bas-relief of a soldier that had been looted from the excavations in 1935–36 and later purchased by the [[Montreal Museum of Fine Arts]] was repatriated to Iran in 2018, after being offered for sale in London and New York.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/arts/design/judge-orders-return-of-ancient-limestone-relief-to-iran.html |title=Judge Orders Return of Ancient Limestone Relief to Iran |last=Mashberg |first=Tom |date=2018-07-23 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-07-03 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410061057/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/arts/design/judge-orders-return-of-ancient-limestone-relief-to-iran.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Forgotten Empire Exhibition, (Room 5).1.JPG|''Forgotten Empire Exhibition'', the [[British Museum]]
File:The British Museum, Room 5-Persepolis Bas-relief.jpg|''Forgotten Empire Exhibition'', the [[British Museum]]
File:UC Oriental Institute Iranian artifacts ancient 10.JPG|Persepolitan rosette rock relief, kept at the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]]
File:Persian Objects at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - 2015.jpg|alt=Museum display case showing Achaemenid objects.|Achaemenid objects at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], including a bas relief from Persepolis
File:Head of an archer of the royal guard, 2 of 2, from the Palace of Xerxes, Achaemenid Persia, 486-465 BC, limestone - Sackler Museum - Harvard University - DSC01732.jpg|Head of an archer of the royal guard from Hadish palace, [[Harvard Art Museums|Sackler Museum]] - [[Harvard University]]
File:Fragment of wall decoration from the Palace of Xerxes, guardsman in procession, 486-465 BC, Achaemenid, Iran, Persepolis, gray limestone - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08093.JPG|Fragment of wall decoration from Hadish palace, [[Cleveland Museum of Art]]
</gallery>

== Foreign Visitors Graffiti at Persepolis ==
{{Main|Foreign Visitors Graffiti at Persepolis}}
[[File:Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg Eingang von Persepolis.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg]] inscription on an ancient monument at the entrance of Persepolis (Iran)]]
Some European travelers throughout history have left graffiti on the walls of Persepolis during their visits.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Persepolis 2012.jpg|A general view of the Persepolis.
File:آرامگاه اردشیر سوم در نمای کلی.jpg|The tomb of [[Artaxerxes II]] at Persepolis
File:Persepolis-horn shaped stones.jpg|Horn-shaped stones at Persepolis.
File:Entrance Museum of Persepolis.jpg|The Queen's Quarters, built by the order of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]]. The palace was excavated and rebuilt by [[Ernst Herzfeld]] in 1931, and today it is used as a museum and the central office of Persepolis.
File:Pasargadae Swallow-Tail Staples.jpg|The use of [[dovetail joint]] instead of mortar in gluing stones together.
File:Persépolis, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 01.jpg|The entrance of Persepolis.
File:030614-Perspolice-IMG 1273-2.jpg|Perspolice, [[Fars province]], [[Iran]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Iran}}
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
*[[Achaemenid architecture]]
*[[Behistun Inscription]]
*[[Cities of the Ancient Near East]]
*[[Foreign Visitors Graffiti at Persepolis]]
*[[Istakhr]]
*[[List of World Heritage Sites in Iran]]
*[[Naqsh-e Rustam]]
*[[Palace of Darius in Susa]], similar structure built at the same time
*[[Pasargadae]]
*[[Persepolis (comics)]]
*[[Persepolis F.C.]]
*[[Qadamgah (ancient site)]]
*[[Tachara]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{EB1911|wstitle=Persepolis}}
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Curtis, J. and Tallis, N. (eds). (2005). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kJnaKu9DdNEC Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia].'' University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-24731-0}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Devos |first1=Bianca |title="History is repeated": The representation of Persepolis in the Iranian press of the 1930s |journal=Die Welt des Islams |date=2018 |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=326–356 |doi=10.1163/15700607-00583P03 |s2cid=166200185}}
*{{cite journal |last=Frye |first=Richard N. |journal=[[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]] |title=Persepolis Again |volume=33 |issue=4 |year=<!--oct-->1974 |pages=383–386 |doi=10.1086/372376 |s2cid=222453940 |ref=none}}
*Wilber, Donald Newton. (1989). ''Persepolis: The Archaeology of Parsa, Seat of the Persian Kings''. Darwin Press. Revised edition {{ISBN|0-87850-062-6}}.

==External links==
{{Sister project links |author=no|v=no|n=no}}
*[https://persepolis.ir Persepolis] – official website {{in lang|en|fa}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101213022334/http://www.ancientopedia.com/persepolis/ Persepolis] at the ''Ancient History Encyclopedia'' with timeline, illustrations, and books
*Arthur John Booth. [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001231682?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=%22Booth%2C%20Arthur%20John.%22&ft= ''The Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions''] (1902)
*[http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/IRAN/PAAI/PAAI.html Persepolis Photographs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205040025/http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/IRAN/PAAI/PAAI.html |date=5 February 2007 }} and [http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/per/ Introduction to the Persian Expedition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515235355/http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/per/ |date=15 May 2011 }}, 
*[http://www.stockholm360.net/list.php?id=persepolis 360 degrees panorama gallery of Persepolis]
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&ie=UTF8&ll=29.933459,52.888162&spn=0.007922,0.013733&t=h&z=16 Google Maps]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120107014341/http://www.ichto.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=1218 "Persepolis"] at [[Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran]]
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-vii Greek Art And Arch] [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-vii itecture In Iran] (Mentions Ionian work in Persepolis)
*[https://amazingiran.media/persepolis/ Persepolis: The Magnificent Ancient Capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire] at [https://amazingiran.media/ Amazing Iran Media]

{{Achaemenid Empire}}
{{Persepolis}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Iran}}
{{Iranian Architecture}}
{{Fars Province}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Persepolis| ]]
[[Category:Lost ancient cities and towns]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 6th century BC]]
[[Category:Achaemenid cities]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iran]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Fars province]]
[[Category:Ancient Iranian cities]]
[[Category:Achaemenid architecture]]
[[Category:Book burnings]]
[[Category:Culture of Iran]]
[[Category:Destroyed libraries]]
[[Category:Ruins in Iran]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Iran]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Fars province]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Fars province]]
[[Category:Persian art]]
[[Category:Establishments in the Achaemenid Empire]]
[[Category:Royal residences in Iran]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List]]